Anticancer Potential of the Roots of Decalepis Hamiltonii against Ehrlich Ascites Tumor

Akshatha, H.S. (2006) Anticancer Potential of the Roots of Decalepis Hamiltonii against Ehrlich Ascites Tumor. Masters thesis, University of Mysore.

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Abstract

This Dissertation / Report is the outcome of investigation carried out by the creator(s) / author(s) at the department/division of Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore mentioned below in this page.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Additional Information:	An attempt has been made to evaluate the anticancer activity of the root extract of Decalepis hamiltonii, which is commonly used in Ayurvedic system of medicine for various purposes. Some of the active principles present in the roots of D.hamiltonii plant are reported to be antioxidant (Srivastava et al., 2006 b). Hence this plant was chosen to study the antitumor activity against EAT cells. Antioxidant-rich plant extracts serve as sources of nutraceuticals that alleviate the oxidative stress and therefore prevent or slow down the degenerative diseases (Ames et al., 1993; Cao et al., 1996; Fu & Ji, 2003;Joseph et al., 1999, Kitts et al., 2000). The study done in CFTRI was the first to report the antioxidant activity of the roots of Dh which may be associated with their alleged health benefits (Srivastava et al., 2006 a). The broad range of antioxidant activity of the extracts indicates the potential of the roots as a source of natural antioxidants or nutraceuticals with potential application to reduce oxidative stress with consequent health benefits (Harish et al., 2005; Srivastava et al., 2006 b). Intraperitoneal inoculation of EAT cells in the mice produced an enormous increase in the cancer cell count which indicated that there is progression of cancer in the animals. The decrease in the cancer cell number observed in the Dh root extract treated mice of Group II indicates that the test drug is having significant inhibitory effect on the tumor cell proliferation. Treatment with Dh root extract reduced the tumor weight and hence increased the life span. The clinical efficacy of an anticancer agent lies in its ability to inhibit the proliferation of tumors not only in early stages but also in the late stages of its development. The results from the stage specific evaluation show that Dh root extract inhibited the increase in the body weight gain in animals due to tumor development during the early stages effectively, which may be due to an efficient tumor cell kill by Dh root extract. The studies of the anticancer activity of plants at different stages of tumor development are scanty, however, withaferin A from Withania somnifera and plumbagin, from Plumbago rosea have been reported to inhibit EAT cell growth (Christina et al., 2004). The Dh root extract treated mice survived for more days when compared to the untreated mice. These observations on the effect of Dh root extract on various parameters studied to evaluate the antitumor activity enabled us to conclude that it possesses antitumor activity. From our study, it is clear that Dh root extract inhibited the growth of EAT cells in the mice. However, given Dh extract is a cocktail of antioxidants. The anticancer properties of the extract could be attributed to the active principles (Harish et al., 2005; Srivastava et al., 2006b). D. hamiltonii extract has already been shown to possess several health promoting properties including hepatoprotective action and anticytotoxic properties (Srivastava et al.,2006a). In view of the anticancer properties of D. hamiltonii it is reported for the first time, that it adds to the positive health effects of the roots of D.hamiltonii.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Decalepis Hamiltonii anticancer
Subjects:	600 Technology > 01 Medical sciences 500 Natural Sciences and Mathematics > 10 Plants
Divisions:	Food Protectants and Infestation Control
Depositing User:	Food Sci. & Technol. Information Services
Date Deposited:	12 Apr 2007
Last Modified:	28 Dec 2011 09:26
URI:	http://ir.cftri.res.in/id/eprint/450

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